Towards a Theory of Development

by Alessandro Minelli (Editor), Thomas Pradeu (Editor)

Overview

Is it possible to explain and predict the development of living things? What is development? Articulate answers to these seemingly innocuous questions are far from straightforward. To date, no systematic, targeted effort has been made to construct a unifying theory of development. This novel work offers a unique exploration of the foundations of ontogeny by asking how the development of living things should be understood. It explores the key concepts of developmental biology, asks whether general principles of development can be discovered, and examines the role of models and theories. The two editors (one a biologist with long interest in the theoretical aspects of his discipline, the other a philosopher of science who has mainly worked on biological systems) have assembled a team of leading contributors who are representative of the scientific and philosophical community within which a diversity of thoughts are growing, and out of which a theory of development may eventually emerge. They analyse a wealth of approaches to concepts, models and theories of development, such as gene regulatory networks, accounts based on systems biology and on physics of soft matter, the different articulations of evolution and development, symbiont-induced development, as well as the widely discussed concepts of positional information and morphogenetic field, the idea of a 'programme' of development and its critiques, and the long-standing opposition between preformationist and epigenetic conceptions of development. Towards a Theory of Development is primarily aimed at students and researchers in the fields of 'evo-devo', developmental biology, theoretical biology, systems biology, biophysics, and the philosophy of science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191651182
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	05/01/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Alessandro Minelli was Professor of Zoology at the University of Padova, Italy, until his retirement in 2011. Following long years of research in biological systematics and phylogenetics, he later moved the focus of his activity towards evolutionary developmental biology. Founding member and former vice-president of the European Society of Evolutionary Biology, Minelli is member of the editorial board of Evolution&Development, Theory in Biosciences and Frontiers in Zoology. Thomas Pradeu is Associate Professor in Philosophy of Science at Paris-Sorbonne University. Trained in both philosophy and biology, he is particularly interested in conceptual and theoretical issues of immunology and developmental biology. His research has been published in scientific and philosophical journals, including Biological Theory, Biology and Philosophy, The Lancet, Nature Reviews Immunology, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA.

Table of Contents

1. Theories of Development in Biology - Problems and Perspectives, Alessandro Minelli and Thomas Pradeu
2. Regenerating Theories in Developmental Biology, Thomas Pradeu
3. The Erotetic Organization of Developmental Biology, Alan Love
4. On the Concept of Mechanism in Development, Johannes Jaeger and James Sharpe
5. The Epistemological Resilience of the Concept of Morphogenetic Field, Davide Vecchi and Isaac Hernandez
6. Physico-genetics of Morphogenesis: The Hybrid Nature of Developmental Mechanisms, Stuart Newman
7. The Landscape Metaphor in Development, Giuseppe Fusco, Roberto Carrer and Emanuele Serrelli
8. Formalizing Theories of Development: A Fugue on the Orderliness of Change, Scott Gilbert and Jonathan Bard
9. General Theories of Evolution and Inheritance, but not Development?, Wallace Arthur
10. Cell Differentiation Is a Stochastic Process Subjected to Natural Selection, Jean-Jacques Kupiec
11. From Genes to Gene Regulatory Networks: The Progressive Historical Construction of a Genetic Theory of Development and Evolution, Michel Morange
12. Reproduction and Scaffolded Developmental Processes: An Integrated Evolutionary Perspective, James Griesemer
13. Comparison of Animal and Plant Development: A Right Track to Establish a Theory of Development?, Michel Vervoort
14. Toward a Theory of Development Through a Theory of Developmental Evolution, Armin P. Moczek
15. Developmental Disparity, Alessandro Minelli
16. Identifying Some Theories in Developmental Biology. The Case of the Cancer Stem Cell Theory, Lucie Laplane
17. Animal Development in a Microbial World, Spencer V. Nyholm and Margaret McFall-Ngai

Editorial Reviews

"[T]his book will be essential reading for readers wanting a rich introduction to current broad issues in developmental biology and evo-devo, for philosophers of science in general, and for biologists at large. Exceptional for an edited volume, each chapter in owards a Theory of Development is deeply thoughtful, provoking reflection on some of the most important ideas in current biology." —Evolution & Development

"This is a very welcome volume that raises, and addresses, a number of important questions about how we understand development. ... [T]his volume should be taken as a whole and is worth reading carefully. It raises questions that deserve further consideration, and should stimulate further discussion that will enrich developmental biology, philosophy of science, and will benefit from conversation with history of science as well." —History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences

"Towards a theory of Development is a highly recommended reading for everyone interested in developmental biology." —Biology & Philosophy

From the Publisher